Beginning Grappling

[pstevens]

Since there has been a lot of inquiries regarding beginning grappling, particularly BJJ, I would like to share some training insights... Please be advised that any information you use is at your own discretion. My experience comes from years of training and teaching martial arts. This is simply an overview of some of my training methods pertaining to grappling.

MAT MOVES — It's very important that beginning grapplers understand how to move on the ground. To often, people want to learn submissions right away, but all the submissions in the world mean little if you can't move properly on the ground. Here are some simple moves that are executed on the mat:

Forward Roll (on Left or Right Shoulder)
Backward Roll (on Left or Right Shoulder)
Shrimp
Double-Shrimp
Shoulder Sprint (Forward and Reverse)

*Unfortunately, it's near impossible for me to describe these movements without visual reference, therefore I am only listing moves that can be researched further... However, feel free to ask myself or others on this forum if you have further questions.

POSITIONS — In my mind, positioning is the most important aspect of grappling. Early in my development, I resorted to using too much strength to force submissions, without attaining proper positioning. While this worked to a degree, it hindered my understanding of true skill. As a result, I drill both myself and students in positioning more than anything until they're ready to learn various submissions.

Basic BJJ Positions:
Mount
Gaurd
Half-Guard
Side Mount
Knee On Stomache
Triple
North/South
Back Mount

*Good position drills include timed matches in which only positions are allowed. Or perhaps only certain positions are awarded points... Mix it up.

ESCAPES — Equally important, is escaping. As a beginner, much of your time is spent learning to escape or counter. It's a crueling task that takes years to understand and even then, you still get tied up. However, the better you become at escaping, the more you will understand how important positioning is and how things flow together.

Escapes are too numerous to list and some may not even have formal names. But just to list a few:

Escape from Mount:
Upa — a bridge technique that involves isolating one side of your opponent's body.
Elbow Escape — a technique using shrimping motions.

SUBMISSIONS — Ofcourse what everyone wants to learn are submission holds. There is an endless list of holds, chokes and locks, but my advice and advice given to me has been to really learn a few and become good at those. It's great to know many submissions, but it's even better if you can pull off a few simple ones.

That said, some of the basic submissions are:
Armbar
Cross Collar Choke
Triangle Choke
Americana
Kimura
Ezekiel Choke
Clock Choke

TAKEDOWNS — One of the hardest things to learn in grappling is takedowns. The way I learned was to ask the guy who continually took me down. It's really a combination of skill and timing that comes with experience. The more you drill and become familiar with takedowns, you more comfortable it becomes.

Some basic takedowns include:
Double Leg
Singe Leg
Ankle
Taking the Back

*We also train throws as part of takedowns...those include very basic throws like the sweeping hip toss and regular hip toss.

I hope I was able to shed a little light on some basic techniques of BJJ and grappling. Please note that I am NOT an expert grappler of any sort, and this is merely an overview of what I share with others.

Best regards,

Paul Stevens

[cakegirl]

One advice I have for beginners: get a notebook, and write down every technique/drill/warmup you do, along with an explanation of how to do it. Your explanation can be in whatever way you remember best - lots of words, stick figure pictures, point form, whatever. There are so many techniques in BJJ, it's easy to forget. For months when I started training, I thought I had a BJJ-resistent memory - I was getting better at positioning, at defending, generally moving, but every time I got somewhere, I'd have a hold of the other guy's arm or whatever, thinking "Hang on... I think I know a submission that starts here... what was that again?..."

Since I started started what has become known as "the magic purple book", I've improved so much! I used to not remember what I didn't know! Now when I have a chance to train, I can flick open the book, find something I want to work on, and do it. If I don't have someone to train with, I can read my notes and 'virtual-train'.

Cakegirl

[bartjam]

good post Paul, very interesting - actually I'm planning to start bjj soon, I'll keep that in my notebook :-)